Latest on Bute House Hotel windows petition

More than three hundred people, at the time of writing, had signed a petition urging a rethink on plans for UPVC windows at the Bute House Hotel after the proposals were rejected by both Argyll and Bute Council and the Scottish Government.

Craig Borland

More than three hundred people have added their names to a petition urging Argyll and Bute Council to look again at its decision to refuse planning permission for uPVC windows at a Rothesay town centre hotel.

The petition, which was launched on January 29 and can be signed online and at 20 business premises in the town, calls on the authority to rethink its decision to turn down the application for the Bute House Hotel on the corner of West Princes Street and Watergate.

At the time of writing this article, we’ve collected completed sheets bearing the names of 273 people, while 55 names had been added online - and that’s not counting the names added to as-yet-incomplete pages of the hard-copy version.

The petition, which has a closing date of Friday, February 21, asks the council to “reconsider its decision and to work without delay towards a solution which will address the urgent need for quality hotel accommodation on Bute, and be of benefit to the economy of the island”.

The hotel’s owners, Harry and Hazel Greene, have had two applications for UPVC windows refused by the council - the first by planning department officials and the second by the authority’s planning, protective services and licensing committee - on the grounds that the material would damage the character of the Rothesay conservation area.

The Greenes appealed against refusal of the second application, but a reporter from the Scottish Government’s directorate for planning and environmental appeals (DPEA) dismissed the appeal in January, in a decision which attracted almost universal condemnation from local residents and businesses.

Click here to sign the online version of the petition - or alternatively, you can add your name to a hard copy at the following Rothesay businesses:

The Buteman, Victoria Street;

Card & Gift Shop, Victoria Street;

Toffo’s newsagent, Montague Street;

Rothesay post office, Watergate;

Taverna Bar, Watergate/West Princes Street;

Black Bull, Albert Place/West Princes Street;

Oakenshield’s Shoe Repair, West Princes Street;

Bute Dental Surgery, West Princes Street;

Jessmay’s greengrocer, Bishop Street;

Glen’s electricals, East Princes Street;

The Bike Shed, East Princes Street;

Lloyds Pharmacy, Victoria Street;

Glen’s shoe shop, Victoria Street;

Caroline’s Hair Salon, Victoria Street;

West End Cafe, Gallowgate;

Diane’s Hair & Body Salon, Montague Street;

Knox’s Menswear, Montague Street;

J.S. Slaven’s fishmonger, Montague Street;

Sheena’s Shop, Montague Street;

Bute Tools, Montague Street;

Dil’s Newsagent, High Street.

Argyll and Bute Council has promised to send us a statement outlining the authority’s approach to such planning applications, and we’ll publish it as soon as it’s received.